The world’s first superhero takes the stage as his reputation grows in big and small ways.
What They Say:
The one and only Grant Morrison (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN) returns to the Man of Steel, joined by sensational artist Rags Morales (IDENTITY CRISIS), to bring you the story of Superman, updated for the Modern Age! This extra-sized debut issue is the cornerstone of the entire DC Universe!
The Review:
Superman is a character that I’ve long enjoyed, since the Christopher Reeves movie hit at an early age for me and was such a success. My comic book enjoyment of the character did not come until after Crisis on Infinite Earths when my then favorite writer/artist in John Byrne rebooted the character for the new launch that happened there. Between those initial releases and then the period several years later when the four Superman books effectively told a weekly story that really was fantastic to see unfold, Superman’s been a character that I’ve loved to follow. While I fell out of comics for a number of years, there were always specials and things that came along that still brought me back in, like Red Son and Kingdom Come as well as the various TV and DC Universe animated movies. I’m a long time fan, but I never saw him as the derisive ultimate boy scout or anything else since there was always so much more there from past material that resonated with me.
So now, with Action Comics #1, one of my other favorite writers (though only in selected works, not overall) has come to guide the character down a new path. With the character needing something radical to shift perspective on him, this is ideal for a lot of reasons, though it may not always work (Yes, I’m looking at you: Superman: Earth One). But if there’s someone I’m going to trust for a couple of arcs to work out the kinks, it’s Grant Morrison. With this series, we get to go back five years in time to the present day of continuity to show us the early stories of Superman’s arrival in Metropolis and the way he basically found his way. He’s a younger character, not quite a super boy at least, but he has that early twenties kind of rough and tumble brawler style to him where he knows he’s the hot ticket right now and has his own particular sense of justice. As we see from the start, he wants everyone to be held accountable under the law, from those that are rich and feel they’re above it to those that are in the gutter and trying to take down anyone and everyone to get ahead.
Through the course of this larger opening issue, we see his interactions have been going on in the city for some six months now and according to General Sam Lane, this “Superman” is getting stronger, faster and harder to deal with every week. And that’s why he’s brought in Lex Luthor to try and help figure out what’s going on, even though the cost is far too high a sum at the moment. What we see from his level and from the police is that they have no clue how to deal with this, especially with the almost flippant attitude that Superman has. He’s not quite a vigilante in a way by the traditional method where he’s hiding his face with a mask, operating only at night or other some such, but there’s a certain air about him that has some cockiness that’s appropriate, especially since we don’t know his actual background and upbringing yet to see what his formative life was like back in Smallville.
And we do know he grew up there at least as we see him in his street clothes after he does a save of some innocent people about to get their apartment complex torn down with them in it. As we learn, he’s working as a reporter and getting some notice for the things he’s finding out about the criminal organization known as Intergang, which helps since he gets to blame them for how roughed up get looks at times from what he does as Superman. And we also get a look at a few other iconic figures as we see him calling Jimmy Olsen who has apparently become his best friend in these last few months even though they work at rival newspapers. And that’s what gets Lois Lane as she sees him as just the rival he is. She’s pretty true to form as she goes after stories no matter the risk, so there’s some decent familiarity there with it.
Digital Notes:
The digital edition of Action Comics gets the Rags Morales cover front and center and is followed up by the pencil variant version as well. In addition to that, we also get the Jim Lee variant, which is a very much appreciated gesture for digital consumers who may not have any real options for getting variants at all. And extra kudos for now making it a second book all of its own to buy separately.
In Summary:
Action Comics has a very hard road ahead of it because of how it’s going to redefine his origin, but it allows for a lot of fun as well if it’s done right. Morrison does a decent job here of laying down the basics while trying to have things actually happen, which was the main complaint about the first issue of Justice League. The flip side is that things do seem rushed here, but it fits with the personality we’re seeing from Superman in that he wants to be a man of action, to get things done and make things right. The core ideas are similar to what we’ve seen in past incarnations across all media with how some of the characters are, though I’m finding myself less than thrilled with Rags Morales’ artwork at times. Most of the characters are fine but Jimmy looks a little goofy and I really wanted a new take on Lex Luthor instead of the bald headed guy we get here. And Superman himself is alright, going for a certain simple look for what will be the world’s first superhero, but I really don’t like how thin his lower body is in a lot of panels because it just looks wrong. That said, the book has a lot of fun to it and it definitely throws a lot of things at the wall that it’s going to explore. It’s very true to its name in that it’s about the action and that’ll be combining with more of his origin as it goes on. It’s got me interested in seeing where it goes.
Grade: B
